


Milky Way Scars

by Evil_Sapphyre



Series: Who We Choose To Be [2]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Admissions, Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Honesty, Hurt/Comfort, Pillow Talk, Romance, implied sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-04-05
Packaged: 2018-10-15 02:36:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10548608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evil_Sapphyre/pseuds/Evil_Sapphyre
Summary: Accepting truths can be difficult, but sometimes, it's the only way to let the scars heal.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for both Kadara and the Reyes romance ahead!

Artificial light streamed through a slatted vent. Yumi was almost certain that it was probably daytime, just beyond the walls of the Kadara Slums, but somehow it seemed that the unnatural brightness was more appropriate. Especially given the shadowed information that she learned about her current lover, Reyes. After what he did, how he lied, she should have run far from him, escaped back to her ship, but even knowing what he planned to do with Sloane…

She froze; she let it happen. She may as well have been the sniper. Sloane’s blood was as much on her hands, as Reyes’.

And now she was laying in bed next to him, basking in… well whatever the fuck this relationship was, like they just hadn’t enacted a major coup of Kadara. She had no idea what she chose, to be honest, and the scary part was that part of her didn’t care. It was that same part that felt so connected to him, back in the shipping yard, that was letting her just drown in this man.

He was an admitted liar, thief, and murderer, and she still wanted to be right here.

God, it was probably a good thing Scott was still in that damned medically induced coma. She’d never hear the end of this one. It was going to be bad enough heading back to the Tempest. She hadn’t exactly taken the most non-discreet crew members to that showdown. The news was going to spread like wildfire, and she’d have to deal with those repercussions too. If only she took Vetra with Drack, instead of.... Oh, fuck, who was she kidding? All of them had good reason to question her, and make sure her decisions were known to the full crew.

Biting back the sigh in her throat, she shifted in the bed, trying her best to not disturb the naked man lying next to her, the heat of his skin tingling against hers. Her brain, with no assistance from SAM (as she told him to keep quiet until she left Tartarus), tried to asses the best way to collect her clothes, scattered as they were, in this tiny, hidden room. She’d have never guessed when she visited him before, that he actually had a sleeping area tucked away here.

Not that it hadn’t been quite convenient once they tired of the cave.

And the shuttle.

His arm draped itself over her hips, hand splayed against her stomach as he pulled her close against him. She told herself it was the surprise of the action that shot the shiver down her spine, that she wasn’t aware that he had been awake, and nothing else.

A happy, contented noise escaped him as he pressed a kiss just under her left ear, his nose nuzzling the exposed flesh. A bubble of laughter caught at the back of her throat, and she couldn’t even try to contain it, as a warmth spread through her chest. “I thought your were asleep.”

“What can I say? I’m a light sleeper.” Despite his words, his voice was thick with sleep, his body relaxed against hers. It was inviting, comforting, and yet, the part of her that had just been inventorying her clothes wouldn’t let her just enjoy it.

“Occupational hazard?” She was stalling, knowing that if she got up to leave, the reality of the situation would come crashing down. Maybe that was why she couldn’t figure out what to do here. There was still the illusion that this was the only thing in this whole new galaxy right now; just her and Reyes in this cramped little bedroom.

He stretched alongside her, a lazy and slow motion, before settling a hand on her hip, easy and comfortable. The contentment was still evident in his voice. “Something like that. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. I'll even behave so you can sleep.”

Fingers curled against that soft spot of skin, just along her hipbone, ever so slightly, on the word behave. A chuckle built at the back of her throat, knowing full well that sort of behaving was the last thing she’d probably ever ask him to do. Granted, if she didn’t find the willpower to climb out of this bed eventually, she might get marooned on Kadara by the crew, and that was probably a bad thing, no matter how tempting. Perhaps behaving would be prudent, for a change..

Yumi shifted in the bed, moving so they were facing each other. Any sheets had long since been displaced, between the sex and heat, leaving just that unnatural light to parade across his lean body. Somehow, even now, the shadows evaded him, lying between them, but catching his eyes in just a way to make the amber-color stand out even more.  Making it impossible for her not to notice the way he lazily stared at her own naked body.

Scrunching her nose, she flicked her eyes first towards a stray lock of dark hair that swept across his forehead, and then up to the ceiling. “It’s too noisy. Up here.” She added that quickly, gesturing towards her head. She didn’t want him to think that it was the fact that they were right next to Tartarus..”I don't really sleep much because of that.”

Fingertips brushed her temple, lingering a moment before he traced a line along the back of her ear. “Is it the AI?”

“SAM?” Her eyebrows flew up as she looked back to Reyes, trying to not let the soft note of concern in his voice affect her. Much. He affected her it seemed no matter what. She managed a shrug, running her tongue along the back of her teeth as she pondered the question of the AI. “No, I mean, it's weird. Don't get me wrong. Having a second voice in your head that's not your own? Weird as fuck, but no, it's my own voice. My own thoughts. They don't know how to quiet down. Hence, the lack of sleeping.”

She tried to downplay it. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded. She did sleep, but it was just in small short bursts. Clearly, Reyes wasn’t buying whatever she was selling, that same intent look burning in his eyes, serious and earnest. Heaven help her, there wasn’t going to be anything left of her to salvage at this rate. “If there’s anything I can do to help, say the word.”

“ _ Anything _ ?” The word left her mouth before she could even realize it. Fucking, leave it to her to try and solve her problem by deciding to shove her hand completely in the fire. At least she managed to embarrass herself with a smile on her face.

His laughter was intoxicating, so warm and alive, as it escaped him. “Insatiable minx. If that’s your wish, then yes,  _ anything.”  _ Reaching past that sliver of shadows between them, he traced his thumb along her bottom lip, as that concern flickered in his eyes again. He tilted his head slightly, his voice low. “But it is an offer to talk as much as anything else.”

“Talk? Uh, pass please?” She covered her surprise relatively well the first time, but there was no hiding her discomfort this time. Nervous laughter escaped her, her cheeks warming. Talking was bound to ruin everything, that much she was certain. “This is all still kind of new, and I’m pretty sure rampaging insecurities and crazy would be deal breakers.”

“And yet, lies and murder weren’t?”

There was no judgment in the way he asked her, no accusatory glint as he watched her. It wasn’t the mask of the Charlatan, that she saw just now, but it was a mask all the same. And fuck, she didn’t want him to need to protect himself from her. For better or worse, she knew he lied. They murdered Sloane together, technically.

And she was here still.

“Well, shit. That’s fair, I suppose. It’s just…” She wanted to be here, and honestly, all the things that he could find out about her, they were insignificant compared to what they’d done. But still, it seemed like a chasm between them. She looked back to the ceiling, hoping that maybe he’d not hear the panic in the back of her voice. ”How about we not start with my crazy? Can we talk about something else maybe?”

“Of course. Whatever you want.”

“Even you?”

Yumi dared to look to Reyes, unsure what she’d see. Yet, there he was, still just laying there and watching her, like she was the only thing in the world that mattered. “I’m an open book, for you.”

“Is that so? You may regret that invitation.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

There was no hesitation, just a hint of a smile on his face. Propping herself up on an elbow, she considered her options before her; he was an open book after all. Would he really answer anything? “Alright, hot shot, tell me. Why the cloak and dagger routine? I mean, you said you wanted to be someone, but by being no one?”

He raised both eyebrows at the question, his eyes working back and forth as he searched her face. It was terribly unfair of her, and she knew it. So did he, evident by the way he smiled no longer. Yet, he simply adjusted how he lounged in the bed alongside her, head resting against his hand. “It's not how I envisioned it. No. I worked with what was available though. Eventually, I got comfortable in the shadows.”

He chose to not elaborate further, and she decided to not press for more of an answer on that. It was an honest answer; she respected that. That was all she really wanted anyways. Honesty. Of course, she could still have some fun with him, right? Not everything had to be gut punches and hard answers.

She hooked her mouth in an impish smile as she eyed him. “It must let a dashing rapscallion like yourself cut a swath of broken hearts in all the ports too.”

“Oh, you wound me.” The self assured smile that she first met returned, mirth coloring his voice. “There are far less broken hearts than you might imagine. I assure you.”

“Is that so?” She wanted that much to be true, more than anything. Maybe then she wouldn't be consumed by his fire, that there could be something left of her after.

“Quite, actually. Besides, I believe I was on the receiving end the last time any heart was truly broken.” The smile remained on his face, yet regret painted it now, making her own chest ache for him.

Without thinking, she reached out to him, her fingers dancing lightly over his sternum. For a second, her voice stuck in her throat. “Is she… is that why you're trying…”

“ _ He,  _ and partly. It became something for myself, but I won't deny that the spurn of rejection didn't start the journey.” Reyes took her hand with his, his thumb tracing the pulse on her wrist absently. How many of his scars had he just laid bare for her? All while she kept hers held close. Not because she was afraid he'd reject her, but for fear of admitting some of those truths that she didn't want to remember.

She turned her wrist over in his grasp, pulling herself up in a sitting position. She never looked to him as she pointed to the pale scar that ran across the skin. “I was seventeen, experimenting with red sand and practically anything I could get my hands on. The last combination, well, when the high crashed, I decided to go out with it.”

“Yumi…”

She didn't let herself focus on how her name sounded on his lips. It was hard enough to start talking at all, and she needed to at least give him the full story. “Well, clearly it didn't take. Scott found me, and he fixed everything. Like usual. He convinced everyone that someone drugged me, made me promise to not tell the truth. Hell, it’s how he dragged me to the Alliance with him a year later.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat, not ready to meet his gaze yet. It didn't matter how much time had passed, she wouldn't be able to stand to see pity or revulsion in his eyes. “And before you ask, I had an absentee father, a mother blazing the trail in leading edge research, and a younger brother brimming with biotic potential. It was easy to go by unnoticed. I got accustomed to that. Better than being the Ryder family fuck up.”

Reyes shifted next to her, one hand caressing the base of her neck. “You are a hard woman to not notice.”

“Is it wrong that I wish I was though?” Her voice cracked as she admitted that finally. She hadn't told anyone that, especially after her father forced her into this role as Pathfinder. No one would follow her if they knew. “I was fine being no one. If my dad, or Scott… if things were different, I’d stIll be no one.”

He brushed his hand along her cheek, lifting her head until she met his eyes. There was no pity in them, like she feared, just a strange fierce pride. “Be no one with me.”

“What?” It was the strangest request that she ever heard, and she knew she must look as confused as she sounded.

Fingertips ran along her temples, brushing her hair aside. The fire returned to his eyes as he held her eyes. “We play the cards we are dealt. Forced into roles. But to hell with that. You don't have to be that. Not here. You don't have to be anything for me. I just want you.”

She pressed her hands over his, that same warm, inviting feeling filling her. She wanted to kiss him, to lose herself in him. Again. But she needed to do something else first. More.

“Reyes?” Yumi bit the inside of her lip as she reached out, combing her fingers lightly through his hair. His eyes met hers, pride and desire swimming through the whiskey depths. “Thank you.”

This time, he kissed her. 


End file.
